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got to this link http://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/LawnCare/doit.asp then go under how to design you system. Read this guide when you get to zoning your system you will read about the 5 gallon bucket method. Use this as a guideline and give me some more info.

Pete, Thanks for the info. I understand how to set up zones based on maximum available flow rates, however my experience has been with hooking up to municipal water, not to a well, and would like to know what the standard practice is for well water systems. It seems that you would have to have a separate pump for your irrigation system so that it is sized correctly for your zone requirements. However, if you have to install a separate well it gets very expensive. So how is this situation typically resolved? Can you get 2 pumps on a single well?

I have asked well guys this same question and they say no (2 pumpsand 1 well). How many gpm is the current pump able to provide? I have a 4 inch well with a 1/2 horse pump and it gives 13gpm at 40 psi. This is a very standard size pump. Nothing special. I looked into droping a bigger pump down the well but that would be another 800 dollars. Therefore, that is why I sent you to the 5 gallon test to get an approximation of what that well can produce. Also if it is a new well the homeowner may have the spec sheet that was filed with the county when the well was installed. The well driller has to provide info like gpm to the county. I have no experience with city water only well water.
When i designed my system I had to work with the 13 gpm and design the zones around that. It works fine.

Thanks for the feedback..my well is only theoretical...just looking for information.. I'm curious, do you install the well to be used for the irrigation system yourself or sub this out. If sub, how much does this cost? Based on quotes I have received, a new well installation $2,000 would nearly double the cost of the system for a residential job. Not very practical..
Thanks again!

Out in the country, where I live, we all have wells to supply dirnking water etc... My home is 5 yrs old and the well I described earlier was installed when my home was built. From the well a main line comes into my basement and to a 20 gallon pressure/holding tank. Also, connected to the main line is a pressure guage and a switch that tells my pump when to turn on. My pump starts when the pressure drops to 38 psi and shuts off at 58 psi.

To install my system I Just cut the main and inserted a T and ran my system off of this. When my system turns on the pressure will begin to drop and at 38 psi the pump starts. Because of the way i designed my system the pressure continues to run at 40 psi until I am done watering.

Well drillers normally charge by the foot and my 50 ft well cost about 3000. Remember though, I needed this any way. My only mistake is that the well driller did not know that I wanted an irrigation system or he would have used a bigger pump and it would have been about 100 dollars more then vs 800 now.